Army Painter Matte

[General Lee]

Constantine said:

Yeah, I’ve been here a while…

Why use Purity seal if you already dipped? Just use Dull Cote, that’d be enough.

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well since purity seal is a matt varnish...

anyway, I won't be doing that again

[Morsleib]

Purity Seal is semi-matt (or satin) rather than true matt. That's why I stopped using it. Armypainter matt spray is super matt.

Terry

[Constantine]

My bad....Mixed up Purity Seal and 'Ardcoat. Not there's much difference: 'Ardcoat gives a nice, hard glossy layer. PS does the same and adds a white mist.... :P

[Cubster]

The GW 'Ardcoat does what it says on the tin - it will give a durable coating and is a bit more convenient than painting direct onto the model with liquid gloss, but probably not as effective. You can then matt varnish over the top. I don't personally like this, because you can lose detail, but some people want to protect their models against heavy handling and long term gaming.

I have also used the Purity Seal in the past and have moved to using the Army Painter Matt because of problems with consistency in the former. The long cold winter caused no end of problems of course (especially in a studio like mine with a dodgy radiator) but I've tweaked how I treat my paints now and don't get the same old problems.

This is what I do, it works for me.

1 - As already stated by 'getback', warm up the cans gently (and I mean gently) if they're very cold.

2 - Shake the can vigorously for a full two minutes (as per instructions!) before spraying and then give it a good one minute shake again before spray batch the same day. If nothing else it's good toning for those upper arms.

3 - This one might be contentious. I don't turn the can upside down and spray until only propellant comes out after each spraying. What?! Burn the heathen!! No, I just wipe the surface of the nozzle with a cloth to get it clean. The reason for this is that in the past I have got three quarters of the way through a can and found the propellant has run out, so the paint starts to dribble pathetically out instead of spraying properly. Since changing my system I haven't personally had a problem and don't tend to suddenly find my last can of undercoat or varnish is completely unusable.

4 - Don't give a heavy spray or a double layer because you get the 'sugar frosting' effect, especially on static grass. It's nasty.

5 - If you get a dusty effect because you have sprayed too far away or some other reason, all is not lost. If you wait till the model is fully dry you can vigorously brush over it with a large soft-bristle brush (one of those big fan brushes from a cheapo watercolour set is what I use) and it often dusts off the worst of it.

As I said, it's just what I do, and if it works for you, great. If not, it was someone else's idea, don't blame me.

[grecian1959]

I sadly can concur cubster- i have just encountered wasted can of matt Army painter spray even after turning upside down n expelling nozzle clean after use.i too had shaken for the required 2 mins prior to use. This can was 50% full last one was 25%- when pressed it just spits out at slow pace -very annoying consdering cost and ordering

also making my units back up on the paint bench ;-(

[hithero]

After vowing never to use matt spray again I decided to try the AP matt after the high-gloss dip looked wrong on my ancient psiloi and got the white mist effect - I hate the stuff. So picked up my can of Halfords wheel laquer, stored in the same location, shaken for the same amount of time and sprayed from the same distance = no problem.

[Carabus]

Really sorry to hear of everyones problems, I too have worked my way through the matts avilable on the market and for years would not touch the stuff. You never got the result you wanted!

I was forced to go back to a matt varnish after using the dip, thanks to Phil's excellent figures and the start of my Roman army. After lots of reading and talking to people I tried Dull Cote. I would never use anything else again. There is nothing I have seen or used that is any better in a can format.

Seriously try it! Shake the can like mad for a long time, and when you think its shook enough, do it again. Spray 8 inches away in one motion spraying before and after the miniature. One pass per side in normally enough. I keep my spray room warm with a little heater prior to spraying as it get quite cold and damp, no problems!

Also, Malestrom now have the stuff: http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=tst_hob_mod_spr_101_000

Give it a try!

[Parus Ater]

I've used various spary on varnishes over the years and generally not had a problem. I got woried about GW Purity Seal at one stage when it appeared to swell but then it dried perfectly. I say this because I find just brushing on to actually be far easier since I don't have to pack up everything and set up outside again.

[Cubster]

I've had 'Testors Matt' highly recommended to me before, but it's not easy to get hold of so I've never tried it personally. I think it's been developed as more of a general hobby varnish than particularly for model figures.

[Guest]

I've tried many different brands but the only one I've never had a problem with and I think looks really good is Testors Dullcote.